the post-JC turning point

[fflo]

I remember Reagan's open promise that we could just start approving of everything we as Americans did, said, were, and imposed on the rest of the world, without changing anything.  He was the anti-Carter, for sure.  Said let's pile up money, money is why we're the greatest and better than everyone, aren't you glad we are, and oh yeah there's such a thing as normal and the good people are that.  It was clear, too, what normal entailed.

The end of Jimmy Carter's presidency was the end of progress because it was right, and the end of federal efforts to do the right thing, in so many ways.

People think his presidency was a failure because of inflation, OPEC and the hostages in Iran, but he handled all of those things in the most intelligent way, and cared more about doing the right thing than about being re-elected or having political popularity.

I just gave some money to the Palestinian Children's Relief Fund, which he endorsed, and Anera, too, both as drops in the bucket of the right thing.  I'm sad he's dead and gone, but it's been nice, as he's remembered, to be reminded that we had him to begin with, and that such a thing is possible, or was, and so theoretically could be again.